Bulbmeister.COM - Discussions

[dalagan]

I have some unidentified white lycoris (I dug them up before moving several years ago, when I didn’t know what they were). Their leaves seem identical to Lycoris Radiata, but they don’t multiply as quickly and I think their bulbs are slightly larger. My guess is L. albiflora, but someone told me it might be L. Elsiae. Any guesses?
Also, I have a question about Nerine (since there isn’t a section here for them). The flowers of Narine look a lot like lycoris. In what ways do Lycoris & Nerine differ in growing habbits etc? From what I have read, dry, hot Arizona would be perfect for Nerine. Is there anything I should know before I go all out and buy an assortment? I think I will get N. Bowdenii (since their cheapest) and a few others. I was happy to find that Bulbmeister had a good selection; most of the Nerine I’ve seen on the net are in England. Has anyone tried to cross Nerine and lycoris?

[kmirvin]

Aaron:

Your question about your white spider lily ID is a good one, and can be difficult to discern. A non-definitive answer would be based on flower color. L. xalbiflora will open creamy white, fading to white with age. L. elsiae will open a salmon color fading to fleshy color with age. A more definitive answer might come from the length of the tepal tube; a full 20 mm long on L. xalbiflora and 12-13 mm long on L. elsiae.

Concerning Nerine, I will create a new category. Let me know any other categories of flower bulbs you would like to have added. I would GUESS that you would do fine with growing them. Although Lycoris and Nerine are in Amaryllidaceae, they do not appear to follow in any way a similar lineage in the process of micro-evolution. Also, Nerines are from Aftrica and Lycoris are from Asia.